The Oxford English Grammar, by Sidney Greenbaum, c.1996, page 272.
5.28 Past Perfect
The past perfect (or pluperfect) is a combination of the past tense of the verb have (had or the contracted form 'd) with the perfect participle. It is used to refer to a situation in the past that came before another situation in the past. The past perfect represents either the past of the simple past or the past of the present perfect.
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The question was, does
Greenbaum say it in a way with which you agree? Do you buy it, all of it, just the way he says it? Send your answer to
[log in to unmask] and I'll report the numbers, pro and con. Just say, "agree" or "don't agree".
The envelope, please.
Votes for "agree": 6%
Votes for "don't agree": 8%
Votes for the write-in candidate: 86%
The winner in a landslide is, "can't decide": 86%
Many thanks to all who participated. We got a valid
sample this time, even by the stricter standard suggested after the last one.
.cheers.brad.29apr08.